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ALL-ELECTRIC trains should be introduced to the Valleys lines, a transport group will recommend tomorrow.

The South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) says the electrification of the Valleys rail network will enable newer, faster trains, which are more environmentally friendly, to be used.

Their recommendations have been backed by the Assembly.

Sewta, which represents 10 councils in South East Wales, will put the ideas forward as part of a package that also includes electrifying the London to Swansea mainline.

They come at a time when a decision must be made on the future of the high speed train, which has served South Wales to London passengers for more than 30 years.

And the plans are gaining support. Although an electrified railway has higher start-up costs than a diesel railway, running it is cheaper. Electric trains are lighter and do not cause the same amount of wear and tear on tracks. They also use energy far more efficiently than a diesel-powered train.

Sewta chairman Jeffrey James, who also leads Vale of Glamorgan council, said: ^Rail electrification would bring great benefits. Newer, more sustainable and faster trains could run with increases in the number of services allowing more people to catch the train to Cardiff and Newport and home again, substantially reducing carbon-heavy road use.^

The plan, which also recommends electrification of the Maesteg, Vale of Glamorgan and Abergavenny lines, is expected to be approved at tomorrow^s board meeting of Sewta, held at the Tredomen headquarters of Caerphilly council.

Members will be asked to support the recommendations and to work with Sewta^s equivalent body in South West Wales to achieve the goals set out.

No costs for the plans have been revealed but seven years ago Wales^ leading transport expert, Professor Stuart Cole, of the University of Glamorgan, calculated the electrification of the Valleys lines would cost about ^250m.

An Assembly Government spokesman said: ^We welcome Sewta adopting a position on rail electrification which is fully consistent with the strong view ministers here have made repeatedly clear to Department for Transport ministers.

^It is essential the Great Western mainline should be the first new rail electrification project and that this should embrace the full length of the route. Initially this needs to be the route between Paddington and Swansea and then to West Wales.

^As part of this, all diversionary routes for the mainline should be electrified, including the Vale of Glamorgan line and the Gloucester route.

^In addition, there is a very strong case for the electrification also of the Cardiff Valleys routes. Our ministers continue to press the case with [UK Transport Secretary] Lord Adonis.^

In 2007, the UK Department for Transport promoted the delivery of ^a sustainable railway^. A decision will be taken soon on which UK regions benefit.

Important transport projects such as high-speed rail and road links between Wales and England are not being given enough priority, MPs say.

The Welsh Affairs Select Committee is calling for better co-operation between UK and Welsh ministers to create a joined-up public transport policy.

It also wants later timetabling of trains between south Wales and London to promote entertainment and tourism.

Top of the list of priorities for the MPs is the electrification of the rail line between London and Swansea.

The committee said it would lead to significantly better services for passengers.

The report also suggested that later running of trains from south Wales would help promote entertainment and tourism in the area, something it said had been seen in cities like Bristol and in Yorkshire.

London to Cardiff rail line will be electrified to cut carbon footprint

One of Britain's busiest rail lines is to be electrified in a move that will introduce greener and more reliable services for millions of passengers.

The government is finalising plans to transform the Great Western mainline as part of a drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The programme will involve installing hundreds of miles of electric cables as well as alterations to tunnels, bridges and stations on one of Britain's oldest rail routes.

An announcement could come as soon as Thursday, although the financing is still being put in place. The Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail, owner of Britain's rail infrastructure, have discussed electrifying the route from London Paddington to Cardiff, taking in Reading and Bristol, as well as the popular commuter route from London to Oxford.

However, the programme is expected to be carried out in phases over the next decade in order to minimise disruption.

Britain lags behind many of its European counterparts in electrical coverage of its rail system, with only 40% of the 20,000-mile network electrified. Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, has pledged to electrify swaths of the network, led by Great Western and the Midland mainline from St Pancras to Sheffield, in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport by 14% by 2020.

Train operators said electrification would bring quicker and more reliable services for passengers, as well as giving rail a green edge over car and air travel. Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: "Electrification brings with it the dual benefits of helping to make rail services more attractive to customers and drawing them away from cars and planes. It also relies on lower-carbon sources of energy." First Great Western, the main operator on the Great Western network, carries 84 million passengers a year.

According to Network Rail, the diesel trains that travel on the Great Western route emit at least double the carbon dioxide output per mile of an electric train. The government-backed company has also calculated that it will cost ^800,000 a track mile just to erect the cabling. Once work on tunnels, bridges and culverts is added in electrifying the 118-mile stretch from London to Bristol could cost ^380m, according to Network Rail.

It is understood that the DfT and Network Rail have discussed funding the work through an increase in Network Rail's borrowings. Network Rail's debt is underwritten by the state and the government will pay off the interest over a number of decades, minimising the immediate impact on the taxpayer.

Stephen Glaister, professor of transport and infrastructure at Imperial College London, said the benefits of electrifying thousands of miles of railway track would be undermined if trains were not powered by energy produced from low-carbon sources such as nuclear plants or wind farms. Otherwise, electrification would simply increase demand for electricity from coal- and gas-powered plants, he added. "The government has to clarify where the electricity is coming from. In a world where nuclear power is declining and renewables cannot fill the gap, where else is it going to come from apart from burning more coal and gas?"

Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, said last week: "Transport accounts for a significant amount of our domestic emissions. Therefore decarbonising this sector has to be front and centre of efforts to meet our obligations and commitments to tackle climate change."

The government is also encouraging greater production, and acquisition, of electric and hybrid cars as part of its low-carbon policy.